Medic testifies in case of 5 soldiers named in Iraq killing

RYAN LENZ, Associated Press

Published
5:30 am CDT, Sunday, August 6, 2006

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- An Iraqi army medic described for a U.S. military hearing today the horrific scene that confronted him when he found the naked and burned body of a 14-year-old girl allegedly raped and murdered by American soldiers south of Baghdad.

The medic testified on the opening day of a hearing to determine whether five U.S. soldiers must stand trial in the March 12 rape-slaying of Abeer Qassim al-Janabi and the killing of her parents and sister in the town of Mahmoudiya.

It is among the worst in a series of cases of alleged killings of civilians and other abuses by U.S. soldiers that have tarnished the American military.

The medic, whose name was withheld for security reasons, testified he was the first responder to enter the house and found the girl sprawled naked in the house, her torso and head burned by flames. She had a single bullet wound under her left eye, he said.

He said he found Abeer's 5-year-old sister, Hadeel, in an adjacent room dead from a bullet wound in the head. The children's father, Qassim, and mother, Fikhriya, suffered similar deaths, he said. The mother's abdomen and chest were riddled with bullets, he added.

"I was feeling very bad,'' he said. "I was sick for almost two weeks.''

He told the hearing that because Mahmoudiya's hospital did not have enough space to store the bodies, they were kept in an air-conditioned ambulance overnight, then buried the following day.

A former private, Steven D. Green, was arrested in North Carolina in June on rape and murder charges in the case. Green, who was discharged from the Army for a "personality disorder,'' has pleaded not guilty in federal court and is being held without bond.

"I told him that that wasn't true and that 90 to 95 percent of the Iraqi people are good people, and they want the same thing that we have in the United States,'' Kunk said.

The proceeding that opened today is referred to as an Article 32 hearing and is the military equivalent of a grand jury session. It is expected to last several days, and parts will be held in secret.

The medic was among three Iraqi witnesses to testify today. Reporters were not permitted to hear the first two witnesses but were allowed back in the hearing room when the medic took the stand.

The military prosecutor, Capt. William Fischbach, showed him several photographs of the bloody crime scene to confirm the bodies were as he found them when he entered the room.

Defense lawyers contended the bodies were staged for the pictures. They also questioned whether the victims were shot to death, suggesting they were already dead when bullets were pumped into their bodies.

The medic acknowledged under cross-examination that he could only assume the family was shot to death.

U.S. officials are concerned the case will strain relations with Iraq's new government if Iraqis perceive that the soldiers receive lenient treatment. They have offered assurances that the case will be pursued vigorously and that the soldiers will be punished if convicted.

The case has already increased demands for changes in an agreement that exempts U.S. soldiers from prosecution in Iraqi courts. And Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has demanded an independent investigation into the case.

Kunk, the battalion commander, said he was told about possible American involvement in the alleged murders and rape on June 19. He said he questioned Barker and Howard the next day, and both denied any coalition soldiers were involved.

Kunk described Baker as "very flippant, very confident, and more than willing to answer the questions I had.''

U.S. soldiers' conduct has come under the spotlight over a string of similar cases.

Four soldiers from another regiment in the 101st Airborne have been accused of killing three Iraqi detainees in Samarra three months ago. The Article 32 hearing in that case ended Friday in Tikrit but no decision on a trial was announced.

In another case, the Marine Corps and Navy prosecutors are reviewing evidence to determine whether to recommend criminal charges against Marines accused of killing 24 Iraqi civilians in Haditha in November.